Flower Mound Road Rager changes his mind

[Greybeard]

Those who travel FM2499 probably know about what I am going to decsribe here about the intersection at FM407. For northbounders on 2499, there are two left hand turn lanes, one of which goes straight west on 407 while the other lane is best suited for those planning to turn right into the shopping center, as it disappears promptly thereafter. The vast majority of the people using these roads are daily commuters and KNOW they need to be in the far left lane if they are planning to go west on FM407. But many folks go ahead and get in the (typically shorter) "disappearing" left turn lane, then expect someone to let them merge in front of them once onto 407. Or nose their way into the smallest of openings.

Four of us dudes were standing around talking just outside the gun range classroom last night just before 6:00 waiting on the only female student signed up to arrive for a CHL "Renewals Only" class. The lady (Linda) is of the age to have the "distinguished" white hair and drives a Mustange convertible. As she was turning left into our entrance driveway, I noticed another vehicle still on Copper Canyon Road whose driver was watching her and had his left turn signal on, indicating a turn into our exit driveway. There was no southbound traffic coming, nothing preventing him from turning left into the exit driveway. Nothing except some rather prominent signage indicating the nature of the business and 4 not-so-small-dudes watching him as Linda got out of her car and walked up to join us. For some odd reason, he never did turn into our parking lot, but proceeded northbound on Copper Canyon Road.

It was at that point that Linda explained to us that the guy had tried to bully his way out of the right hand lane into her lane and that she refused to give him sufficient space to do so. She said "Those people KNOW they are not in the correct lane to begin with, but they do it anyway, then try to just barge in. I was not going to let him." The guy had subsequently managed to get into the proper lane, and had been following her for the past 1.5 miles since the incident. But, it appeared, that once he saw where she was getting out of her car, he decided that he really did not want to go there.

[Medic218]

[C-dub]

I am somewhat familiar with that intersection since it is near my sister's place and it is a nightmare under ideal conditions. Hopefully, it will get better once they are done with all the construction. and get all the traffic lights operational. I can't stand that they require traffic cops at that one exit from Walmart.

[tbrown]

Generally speaking, bullies are cowards.

[LeonCarr]

I was there last night watching the shenanigans...big fun watching that road rager get his heart right :).

Just my .02,
LeonCarr

[bubba1876]

Flower Mound tough guys!!

[Greybeard]

In all fairness, I am pasting below an e-mail reply just received from another lady student who got her CHL at the inception of the program. Like many others, she sometimes lurks here and places like http://www.thehighroad.org" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;, but generally does not post.
------------------------------
Hmmmm.... Thanks for sharing that. It made me think. I'd like to put in my two cents worth on this situation so guess that's OK since you sent the link and didn't say "don't reply"!

I know that area and when you are driving north on 2499 there is a stoplight at 407 with two left turn arrows, but I don't know if the one on the right tells you not to be in that lane unless you're going to make a prompt right turn into the shopping area... I don't think it does.

While, yes, most drivers there are probably locals who are aware that the right lane ends quickly, there are also newbies who don't know the arrows don't give them access to 407 w/o having to get into the left lane once they are there. There was an assumption made that this man knew that... why? There are also times of day when the traffic is very heavy and if she was late for a 6:00 P.M. class I think traffic there is VERY heavy so both lanes might have had a twenty cars in them. That's where alternate feed comes in.

She (Linda) said, "Those people KNOW they are not in the correct lane to begin with, but they do it anyway, then try to just barge in. I was not going to let him."

Assumption of knowledge of the lane ending after the turn or not her last sentence bothers me. What about "Drive Friendly" TX motto (said tongue in cheek). What about the common courtesy alternate feed in narrowing lane situations? And mostly something YOU teach that has stuck with me always... "defuse a situation, don't fuel the fire". She did not defuse it... I don't think she learned your lesson. She could easily have prevented an idiot from showing he was not happy and possible road rage by just letting him in. I think she made a poor choice... if he had been a bad bully he could have shot her after her turn and if there was no traffic, couldn't he, and, just driven on down the road. We do not know who the person is who is standing next to us in line nor in the car behind us, so I see no reason to aggravate them.

You taught me well, LW! Hugs, B.
-------------------------------------------------
Coincidently, for those exiting at that driveway is a sign (that the road rager could not see from his position on the road) that reads "The conflict that does not exist does not need resolution."

[Texas Dan Mosby]

Meh....

I have watched both types of drivers operate on numerous occasions, as have we all, and IMO, both behaviors are deplorable. Idiot drivers that intentionally "game" the lanes for a perceived personal gain often times create hazards other drivers must avoid, however, so do those drivers who intentionally try to block them in order to "teach a lesson". Neither driver apparently cares about how their behavior can have tertiary effects on others, and both show a lack of maturity.

While the road rager is wrong, the actions of the lady in question are nothing to be proud of either IMO.

[Excaliber]

Meh....

I have watched both types of drivers operate on numerous occasions, as have we all, and IMO, both behaviors are deplorable. Idiot drivers that intentionally "game" the lanes for a perceived personal gain often times create hazards other drivers must avoid, however, so do those drivers who intentionally try to block them in order to "teach a lesson". Neither driver apparently cares about how their behavior can have tertiary effects on others, and both show a lack of maturity.

While the road rager is wrong, the actions of the lady in question are nothing to be proud of either IMO.

Well said.

I was going to post along similar lines, but Texas Dan beat me to it.

[Greybeard]

She also said that for a very brief while, she thought he might have been going to turn in and park - to be a student in the same class.

[chasfm11]

I agree with view that both parties didn't cover themselves with glory over this matter. I am also all too familiar with this intersection and want to another factor, though it probably didn't apply to the OP's description. I'm not an aggressive driver mostly and if someone from the right lane in this situation tries to bully their way in front of me, I let them. That has ignited road rage from the driver behind me who makes it clear that he/she was not happy with my passive decision. For me, is a "darned if you do, darned if you don't". Many driver's there seem to favor Linda's approach and are willing to take it out on other drivers who don't.

The most maddening part of this is that both Flower Mound and Highland Village police departments have aggressive (dare I say overly aggressive?) traffic enforcement units that write 1,000 of speeding citations monthly. You would think that some of that enforcement activity could be directed at this particular location but I've never seen any evidence of it. The most difficult part is that a fender bender in this area ties up traffic in all directions for a long time.

This is one of of the places in the area that I do my best to avoid. Trying to get onto the I-35E service road from Valley View west bound is another. Zoned at 50 (and many drivers Southbound exceeding 70) and with a very short acceleration/deceleration ramp, You are forced to pull out into the path of a speeding driver or be rammed from the rear by some who thinks you should have ignored the yield sign.

[03Lightningrocks]

Meh....

I have watched both types of drivers operate on numerous occasions, as have we all, and IMO, both behaviors are deplorable. Idiot drivers that intentionally "game" the lanes for a perceived personal gain often times create hazards other drivers must avoid, however, so do those drivers who intentionally try to block them in order to "teach a lesson". Neither driver apparently cares about how their behavior can have tertiary effects on others, and both show a lack of maturity.

While the road rager is wrong, the actions of the lady in question are nothing to be proud of either IMO.

[PappaGun]

There are many similar roads through out DFW.

When I know that I am coming up on one, I will typically get as far over to the left as I can and let the others fight it out.

Then I watch my mirrors and smile as I get a whole lot farther ahead than they do with their petty games.

C YA!

[Greybeard]

Quote: "There are many similar roads through out DFW."

Agreed. And more people every day who seem to think it is appropriate to chase others down to give them a piece of their mind. Or more. I think the guy's "OODA Loop plan" (Observe, Orient, Decide, Act) Friday night was to see if Linda was going to use our parking lot to turn around, then block her head-on at the exit driveway for whatever confrontation. It seems that her action made him recognize his "Plan A" could be what is sometimes referred to as a potentially "catastrophic failure in the victim selection process".

[Excaliber]

She also said that for a very brief while, she thought he might have been going to turn in and park - to be a student in the same class.

Good thing he didn't.

Shootouts between students in the parking lot before class are bad for business.